


November Rain

by mizutanitony



Series: The Long Road [5]
Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Dancing, F/M, Family Drama, Family Dynamics, Family Issues, Family Reunion, Family Reunions, Family Secrets, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, Long-Term Relationship(s), Male-Female Friendship, Mother-Daughter Relationship, No Sex, No Smut, Older Woman/Younger Man, Parent-Child Relationship, Platonic Female/Male Relationships, Platonic Male/Male Relationships, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Scares, Protective Parents, Protectiveness, Romantic Fluff, Slice of Life, Slow Dancing, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-10-31 18:51:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10905336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizutanitony/pseuds/mizutanitony
Summary: Set six years after the events of Persona 5 and two months after my story "Reunions, Rewards, and Roads". Akira Kurusu and Sadayo Kawakami take a trip to Sadayo's hometown to tell her parents the good news they learned back in September. The problem is her parents have never warmed to Akira and this disapproval finally leads Sadayo and her parents butting heads.Sequel to my story"Reunions, Rewards, and Roads"and Prequel to"Winter Troubles"Please like and Comment....I actually rather enjoy constructive comments.And...I added in Ren's name as a tag...so just as a forewarning I'm not changing the name, but I added it in since...technically they are the same person, but I did contact the admins and if they ever get back to me about applying both names to the story and say I can't then I'll remove it!





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is set six years after the game and two months after my Fic "Reunions, Rewards, and Roads". 
> 
> These are just my own speculations about how this particular version of the relationship might go. It's all ideas in my head and how I feel my version of the protagonist would react. I know it's not the canon name but I use the name I chose because it helps me remain connected to the character and work through the relationship. I will be using some adult language, most of it by Sadayo, and there will also be the discussion of PTSD and scars on the characters. I feel that even though it was in a cognitive world there would be physical and mental effects. To them in the moment the injuries were real and so I figured some of it would translate over to the real world. Also these characters saw hell...and that...that always has an effect.
> 
> I would also like to point out that I am somewhat familiar (only somewhat because I am not a lawyer) with the laws in Japan regarding a relationship like this. What is said between Sadayo and her mother at a later point in this chapter is not from a lack of knowledge but rather from the perspective of a parent who is overly concerned, mildly controlling, and conservative to the point where they are not willing to accept their child's decisions and the child getting fed up with the lack of understanding and decides to call them on their bullshit. My sequel story "Winter Troubles" will come from a more understanding manner due to certain characters being brought in at my discretion. Please be patient. I am sorry if this upsets anybody that is not my intent.

November Rain A Persona 5 fanfiction

Sadayo Kawakami/Protagonist relationship  
Rating M for Language

I do not own Persona 5 nor any of the main characters those are owned by Atlus.

“I always hated driving through these hills as a kid.”

Akira looked over up from his book at Sadayo who was staring out over the barrier of the train tracks and down the steep cliff that fell into dark forest. Snow had come early this year; a small powdering dotted the trees and he felt a smile spread across his face at the sight of her. Taking out his camera he leaned back and snapped a picture out of the window which earned him a growl.

“Really? I’m not exactly feeling like getting caught in a scenic view.” She stared down at her stomach and cradled it in a protective manner. At nearly four months she had a small bump forming and was getting a bit worried now that they were getting closer to her hometown. She’d opted to start wearing some of her maternity clothes. She’d been getting rest at work and everyone had been helping her. Akira had stepped up and only missed about three doctors’ appointments due to some work issues but he’d been there for everything else and went to their scheduled parenting classes. Despite his help, she didn’t really feel like being in any pictures at the moment, and gave him a dirty look when he took two more.

“You weren’t in the shot, so don’t worry.” He tucked the camera away and joined her in holding her stomach. “Everything’s going to be okay.” He kissed her cheek and wrapped his free hand around her shoulder. “I’m right here.”

“You have been.” The distraught lessened and she turned to meet his gaze. “I just don’t want this trip to go badly. You know how they feel about us being together.”

He kissed her again and whispered calming words as she buried her face in his neck.

He knew why she was worried, even his friends knew how her parents felt about him as her lover. It wasn’t like they could hide their age difference and he knew her parents had dug into his past and had somehow found out about when they truly started dating. Her mother, Reika, had always been polite to him but that was it. She insisted they sleep in separate rooms and rarely left them alone together. If asked, AKira would say that Reika was a beautiful woman and that was based on the similarities he saw between her and her daughter. They had similar hair, complexion, and the same eyes, but the constant strain on the woman’s face seemed to prematurely age her.

Sadayo’s father, Sora, was a large and bearded man who was in charge of a shipping company. Though by nature, or due to his years of customer service, Sora proved to be a bit more cordial than his wife. While not exactly a warm individual, he did have a softer nature and at least gave Akira the luxury of casual conversation and an attempt to get to know him. Over the years they had at least grown close enough to have the occasional polite conversation and could be left alone without any discomfort and when the train came to a stop Akira was somewhat relieved to find him standing at their stop as opposed to Reika.

“Sadayo,” the man’s deep voice echoed like a growl and he smiled as he took his daughter in his arms. Akira in the mean time opted to maintain a respectful distance until called over.

“Hi, Dad.” She gazed up at him happily, but concerned. “You’re looking better than Mom let on.”

He coughed out a laugh and patted her cheek. “I’ve been taking my medicine and the doctors say the prognosis looks good.”

“That’s wonderful.” She waved Akira over and the younger man approached tentatively. “Did Mom tell you about his business?”

“She mentioned it.” Sora extended a hand which Akira took and followed with a short bow. “You making any money at it yet?”

“Dad! That’s a rude thing to ask.” Sadayo huffed and gave him a glare but Sora remained firm.

“Some at the moment.” Akira felt his throat clench a bit at Sora’s attempt to emasculate him about his career. “I’ve got about seven people who’ve put in larger orders and we’re mostly doing consultation at the moment, but we should have a steady stream of income from a few clients soon.” He took Sadayo's hand and felt himself relax slightly. “But, we’ve been making enough to pay the employees, myself and Futaba, and I’m making sure to help out at home as well. I’m not going to let her be on the street.”

Sora snorted in approval and Akira relaxed slightly.

“I’m glad to hear it.” Sora straightened his clothes and gave his daughter an apologetic look. “I’m not being nosy, I’m being cautious and just making sure since you rarely call me.”

“I’ve been busy.” They began walking toward the car, Sora carrying one of the bags for them. Sadayo was walking between her fiancé and father. “You know I got promoted and what time I had on lesson plans and grading is now spent in meetings and doing paperwork for employees along with whatever else they throw at me.”

“Welcome to management.” Sora gave her an unapologetic grin as they arrived at the car.

“Did you get a new car?” Sadayo gave her dad a confused look while Akira held the door open for her.

“Got it about a month ago.” Answered Sora as he stowed the bags in the trunk. “Other one broke down one too many times and we got rid of it.”

“Oh.” Sadayo gave her fiance a look of surprise at her parent’s expenditure.

Akira shrugged in repsponse and climbed in after her. The car was roomy and looked to be somewhat used but in incredible condition. It was warm, comfortable, and Sora was about as pleasant as he could be and made small talk as they made the way toward Sadayo’s childhood home.

Her hometown was larger than his, but not by much, and many people were still out and about in the market. It was just past four in the afternoon so most businesses were still open and AKira took note of a few shops that he may be able to use to curry favor with her parents. Sadayo had dozed while Sora was telling her about his work which caught his attention before switching to Akira as a sounding board.

“Is she feeling okay?” Sora’s eyes pierced through the rear-view mirror causing the young man to fidget just a bit.

“She’s overworked,” he answered honestly. “She’s been sleeping in on weekends but staying late during the week. Lately I am home before her so I’ve been taking care of minor chores and dinner for her.” Akirasqueezed her hand and bit his tongue.

“I’m glad you’ve stepped up.” Sora’s eyes remained just as stern but his voice was softer. “I was worried about you and your intentions.”

“Intentions?” Akira stirred in his seat again. “I’ve had honest intentions since…,” he coughed and let himself grow silent.

“You were underage and had sex with my daughter?”

Akira took a deep breath and gave a sideways glance at Sadayo who was still dozing. Sora shook his head and turned to onto the street heading to his home.

“I don’t know who initiated it and I can’t do anything about it now. But,” Sora parked in the driveway and shut off the car, his massive head filling the younger man's vision, the lights outside the house casting a dark shadow over him. “I’m not going to let her end up in trouble for anything you pull. You do right by her or so help me we will have a problem.”

Akira simply nodded and said, “Of course, sir.”

“Glad we understand each other.” Sora climbed out of the car and headed to the trunk.

As the trunk popped open, AKira felt his heart slowly begin to return to its normal pace and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I wish I was back in Mementos rather than having to deal with this.” Rubbing his face he reached out and gently shook Sadayo awake.

“What’s going on?” Sadayo sat up and wiped away the hair plastered to the side of her face and some stray drool.

“We’re here.”

Sadayo stared out at her old home and groaned in frustration. Her hand reached into her shirt and pulled the necklace out that held their four rings and kissed all of them for luck before tucking them away.

“What happened while I was asleep?” She wiped at some crust as she yawned.

“Your dad threatened me about three minutes ago?” As he spoke, Sora began walking past with both of their bags in his massive arms. “Said that if I hurt you he and I were going to have problems.”

“Ugh,” Sadayo grumbled. “He’s been saying that to me for years now and it seems he finally told it to you.” She leaned forward and took his face in her hands and kissed him as her forehead nuzzled his. “I’m sorry.”

“As long as I don’t get threatened again this weekend I’ll be fine.” He gave her a quick kiss in return before opening the door and helped her out and up the slick path that lead to the quaint snow covered house.

It was warm inside and smelt like spices and there was some clattering going on in the kitchen.

“Sora, dinner will be ready soon. Can you please not eat from the pan?” There was the smallest hint of a laugh in Reika’s normally cold voice and Jiro thought maybe he’d be able to finally win her over.

“You’re a great cook.” Sora sounded like he’d just swallowed something savory. “I can never resist your cooking.”

Reika gave the faintest hint of a chuckle and there was a sound of things hitting the sink basin. “Where’s Sadayo? I thought her and that,” Reika let out a low grumble before saying, “that young man were with you.”

“They’re coming up the path. Sadayo fell asleep and I think they just wanted to talk for a minute.”

“Talk my foot,” murmured Reika as something slammed into the sink. “I still can’t believe her and him…..”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now okay.” Sora’s voice was as gentle and comforting as he could make it. “They’ve been together for a long time and they are now both adults. We can’t stop them so just try, okay?”

They heard nothing and then finally heard steps. Realizing the door was still open, Jiro shut it which the newly appeared Reika believe that they had just walked in and heard nothing.

“Ah, there you are.” Reika approached, dressed in an apron and a simple pair of pants and a shirt. She walked forward and squeezed Sadayo, a genuine smile on her face before politely bowing to Akira. “Welcome home you two. Dinner will be ready in a bit but you can take your things to your room if you’d like.”

“Room?” Akira arched an eyebrow and gave an equally perplexed Sadayo a cautious glance.

“Yes, your room.” Reika blushed slightly and fidgeted momentarily. “You are both adults and well….you can share Sadayo’s old room. There is a large futon and pillows set aside for you. We’ve also grabbed some of the winter blankets for you and the bathroom is ready if you’d like to bathe before dinner.”

“I think I’d like to help you, Mom.” Sadayo gave Akira a kiss on the cheek and pointed to the bags. “Can you get those?”

He nodded silently and grabbed the bags while Sadayo and her mother began chatting about her work and the car. He could see Sora sitting at the table reading some papers and Akira head upstairs and took a deep breath before opening the door to Sadayo’s room.

In the few visits he’d made to her home, he had never set foot into her room and felt a bit awkward. It was a simple room, a small desk in the corner and an old tube television on top of a dresser with a DVD player. There were a few lamps and he turned one on before looking for the closet and stowed their bags. He really wanted to take a bath or shower, but it felt more prudent that he make his presence known lest he ruffle any feathers.

Running down stairs he heard Sadayo laugh and say, “No, Ryuji is a former student who is now our track coach. He’s doing very well so far even though it’s only his first year. He’s set to take us to our third or fourth championship in a row this year. He and his wife have been together for about four years now and are expecting their baby any day now.”

“Four years and he’s already a teacher and parent? He’s certainly not wasting any time.” Reika shot a glare at Akira who had just approached the island in the middle of the kitchen. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I was wondering if there was any help you needed with dinner.” He knew Reika was particular about who helped her with food prep and he knew she was not on that prestigious list. “Dishes or seasonings or anything.”

“You can get the bowls and plates.” Reika’s voice strained politeness as she spoke. “Sora can you please get the cups and utensils?”

The large man wasted no time in getting his wife’s request and Akira followed suit and hoped that he worked quickly enough. He didn’t know if Reika’s silence was praise or judgment, but Sadayo smiled at him from the counter and that added a bounce to his step. When the table was set, food was laid out and a quiet meal was had. Conversation was sparse but polite. Sadayo was the focus of her parent’s attention so he kept to himself and ate unless spoken to or was asked for his input. When they finished the cleaning he politely requested if he could use the bath and his future in-laws agreed saying that he could take his time.

Left alone to his own devices, Akira let the water fill up, setting it a bit hotter than usual since it wasn’t his water bill he had to worry about. Smiling at his own indulgence he let the water wash over him, the aches from sitting and transferring trains all day slowly leaving his body. He let his mind wander, floating in the warmth and rejoicing in the momentary peace and quiet until the storm hit. He wasn’t sure if or when it would. Sora seemed to have finally gotten over his misgivings and Reika was making an attempt to be nice so he decided to let those worries drift away. He didn’t know how long he’d been floating in the large bath, he knew it wasn’t long enough for him to fall asleep but the water had begun to cool enough that he felt the need to heat the water up. Opening his eyes, he blinked as the light struck his eyes and he caught the sight of a black blob out of the corner of his eye.

Rising slowly he drained some of the water before filling it.

“You sure your parents are okay with you being here with me?”

He heard Sadayo’s feet on the wet floor and crouched down next to the bath. She’d finally taken off her sweater and rolled up her sleeves and began lathering up a luffa and waving him over.

“They went out for a few minutes and I told them I’d check on you.” She began rubbing at the scars on his back and working at some of the knots. “Since it’s a bath they don’t seem to mind too much. It’s the bedroom they worry about.”

“Funny how things like that work out.” Akira felt the knots releasing rather violently from his back and tried to think unpleasant thoughts as she rubbed him down.

“Chalk it up to our culture.” Sadayo laughed and kissed the nape of his neck. “Don’t worry about my hands though. I’ll keep them where everyone can see them.” She poured some water down his back and gave him a gentle pat on one particularly nasty scar. “Where’d this one come from?”

Akira reached over his shoulder and felt where her hand was and said, “A creature called a Rangda. I got caught off- guard and Haru pushed me out of the way just in time. She got hit in the shoulder before getting taken out by…,” he coughed before adding, “Akechi took it out.”

She dared wrapping her arms around his chest. The rings pressed against the top of his back and she could feel all her work becoming undone. Sadayo rarely ever brought up his adventures, there were so many memories that she didn’t want to prod too much. She found him some nights sweating and thrashing, a pained look on his face as he panted heavily and groaned in distress.

Her touch helped him most of the time, but there were nights when she had to grab one of the small cushioned chairs in the corner and hold his hand until he calmed down. She didn’t tell him after those nights when she looked like shit, why she did. He remembered the nightmares and hearing her voice, but he didn’t know why she would appear in his dreams. He’d always give her a kiss and a hug after telling her about his dreams in thanks for pulling him out of his hell.

“I’m sorry I brought it up.” She kissed his hair and then grabbed a small bucket and filled it with water and began wetting his hair.

“I want to talk about it.” Her hands began working the shampoo into his hair and he relaxed slightly. “I want you to know enough to where I don’t...” he extended his arms in a kind of awkward motion before saying, “I don’t want you to feel like I’m hiding anything or that I don’t want to tell you” He shrugged and felt her hands pull his head back. “It’s just one of those things where if you don’t experience it….”

“You won’t fully understand it,” she finished and began rinsing his hair and exhaled loudly. “I know what it’s like to keep people in the dark about things they don’t understand.” They both laughed quietly and she began working the knots from his shaggy hair. “You’re welcome to tell me whatever you feel comfortable with telling me. Remember our promise to do better?”

“Yes, dear.” She tugged his hair and he laughed before kissing her wet hand. “I’ll tell you more. It won’t be a lot. Most of it barely seems like it was ever real but I’ll tell you more. It’s just very….I guess painful is the only word I can use to describe it.” He felt his eyes begin to sting and he blinked it away. “So many times we nearly died. So many times I almost didn’t come back.”

Akira felt himself begin to drift to the final battle. They’d been nearly laid to waste, the power nearly overwhelming them. His friends were clutching their wounds, blood pouring from so many wounds that Jiro didn’t even know how they were standing as Yaldabaoth laughed malevolently at him, calling him a fool for challenging him, for daring to defy his will.

“Akira,” Sadayo had one hand on his cheek while the other stroked his hair. “Akira, I’m right here. You’re safe and nothing will harm you.”

The memory faded, his eyes refocused, and her face, the face that had saved him so many times returned to his vision. She was smiling sadly down at him. His head was cold but there was a towel underneath it at least which kept his head from hurting. His chest was heaving and he could felt his heart pounding. It took several deep breaths before he calmed down and sat up, his head leaving her hands as he rubbed his temple and unstopped the tub.

She stood up behind him and wrapped her arms around him, soaking her clothes. “You’re safe here,” she whispered kissing his back and holding onto him. “It’s not fun but it’s safe and I’m here for you.”

“I love you,” he whispered squeezing her hands like his life depended on it. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She parted briefly from him and wrapped a towel around his waist and then began drying his hair. “Come on, they’re going to be back soon and I don’t want them complaining.”

He let her lead him to her room where he finished drying off and dressed. When he was done he stood there, his mind lost on the memory,

“Akira.” Sadayo’s face was in front of his, her warm hands covering his cheeks, worry plastered on her face. “Akira what’s wrong?”

He didn’t say anything, he merely broke.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is set six years after the game and two months after my Fic "Reunions, Rewards, and Roads".
> 
> These are just my own speculations about how this particular version of the relationship might go. It's all ideas in my head and how I feel my version of the protagonist would react. I know it's not the canon name but I use the name I chose because it helps me remain connected to the character and work through the relationship. I will be using some adult language, most of it by Sadayo, and there will also be the discussion of PTSD and scars on the characters. I feel that even though it was in a cognitive world there would be physical and mental effects. To them in the moment the injuries were real and so I figured some of it would translate over to the real world. Also these characters saw hell...and that...that always has an effect.
> 
> I would also like to point out that I am somewhat familiar (only somewhat because I am not a lawyer) with the laws in Japan regarding a relationship like this. What is said between Sadayo and her mother at a later point in this chapter is not from a lack of knowledge on my end but rather from the perspective of a parent who is overly concerned, mildly controlling, and conservative to the point where they are not willing to accept their child's decisions and the child getting fed up with the lack of understanding and decides to call them on their bullshit. My sequel story "Winter Troubles" will come from a more understanding manner due to certain characters being brought in at my discretion. Please be patient. I am sorry if this upsets anybody that is not my intent. I am trying to show contrasting perspectives and how calm and understanding over a situation like this can be more beneficial than being obstinate and unwilling to educate yourself. I know how to use google..I do research on my fics quite a bit when I am trying to make sure certain things are done to an acceptable level. It is not from lack of understanding but more of a way to drive a plot and character development. If you'd wish to talk to me about it, I'm happy to, but please be open minded as to the "why it was done" rather than the "how".

November Rain a Persona 5 fanfiction  
Rating: M  
Pairing: Sadayo Kawakami/Protagonist

Summary:  
Akira Kurusu and Sadayo Kawakami take a trip to Sadayo's hometown to tell her parents the good news. The problem is her parents have never warmed to Akira and this disapproval finally leads Sadayo and her parents butting heads.

Notes:  
This story is set six years after the game and two months after my Fic "Reunions, Rewards, and Roads".

These are just my own speculations about how this particular version of the relationship might go. It's all ideas in my head and how I feel my version of the protagonist would react. I know it's not the canon name but I use the name I chose because it helps me remain connected to the character and work through the relationship. I will be using some adult language, most of it by Sadayo, and there will also be the discussion of mental and physical on the characters. I feel that even though it was in a cognitive world there would be physical and mental effects. To them in the moment the injuries were real and so I figured some of it would translate over to the real world. Also these characters saw hell...and that...that always has an effect.

Atlus owns all in game characters and the plot. I own nothing nor profit!

Chapter 2:

 

The following morning, Sadayo woke up alone. She’d gotten to bed a bit later than she’d planned the previous night. She’d spent over an hour allowing Akira to cry and it’d broken her heart to the point where after he’d fallen asleep in her lap that she had to call Ryuji and tell him.

“We’ve all ended up like that at one time or another,” was his answer when she finished explaining. She heard the creak of a chair and the sound of him sighing heavily. “I’ve done broken down in front of Jun a few times and found Futaba crying on Haru’s shoulder. We put on a straight face back then but now, I think now that we’ve kinda slowed down in our lives, it’s all catching up to us.”

“What’ve you been doing about it?” She had a pen and paper available, ready for anything that her fiance's best friend had to offer.

“I got a therapist.” Ryuji’s voice sounded strained as he answered. “I got a few pills to help me sleep...the shit we’ve seen is unimaginable to most people and we can’t really explain everything. No one would get it or they’d think we’re crazy and toss in a fucking home if they heard us describe this shit.” She waited as he took a deep drink from something and sigh. “We talk to each other when we have a bad night and if we can afford it we get to a shrink and hope that helps. Let him cry, let him talk, let him scream if he feels the need to scream out loud. If he talks to someone and they recommend meds to help with some of it, talk to him about that. Just….do what you can to help him. I know it’s unfair right now given how much you both have going on and you’re stressed but I can tell you Sadayo-san….we’re a bit fucked up.”

She thanked him and they spent a half an hour talking about her and Jun’s pregnancies. Ryuji’s voice lightened up at his impending fatherhood. Jun was ready to burst any day now and Ryuji had gotten a substitute to help with his classes while he stayed at home in preparation. After saying goodnight she stayed up doing some research and then talked to her parents for a while before retiring to bed. When she’d woke she found he’d left early with her father to head to the market for her mother and made a pot of tea before turning on the news.

It was a bit chilly in the house which was fine by her. Sadayo wore her thickest sweater to hide her pregnancy and so far her mother hadn’t commented on the few pounds that had begun to show in her face. As she listened to the latest news about government spending, Sadayo heard her mother’s footsteps and looked up to see her head straight toward the stove.

“Oh, you made tea.” Her mother sniffed the pot and smirked before pouring a cup and tasting it. “Lovely. Thank you dear.”

“You’re welcome, Mother.” Sadayo rubbed her eyes and returned her focus to the television. She’d been feeling a bit drained but she wasn’t tired. She wanted to sit down and tell her mother about her pregnancy, but she wanted AKira there. The first reason was so that she knew he was feeling better to some degree and the other was she didn’t want it to be done alone. She didn’t have the courage to face her mother alone and they’d already promise to tell both of their parents together.

“So formal,” her mother sat down on the couch across the coffee table and scanned her daughter. “Did you two sleep okay? You were up rather late.”

“We slept fine.” It wasn’t so much a lie as a minor stretch of the truth. She’d had to explain why AKira had gone to bed so early and she was glad they didn’t raise a fuss. Her mother seemed to pay little attention and her father, well her father had taken a moment to set down his paperwork to ask what the matter was. Sadayo merely told him that he was overworked despite making it home at night, which was partially true since he slept an average of four hours most nights as of late. Sora had barely given it another thought, expressing both concern and admiration that he was working so hard.

Sadayo returned to her tea and the news. The new prime minister was discussing a few new trade deals and some changes to medical coverage. Her mother hummed from the kitchen table at the sound of the trade deals, but Sadayo ignored her. She didn’t want to get into a political discussion with her mother, she was too worried about Akira and wanted him to get back soon.

“Do you want to help me with breakfast?” Her mother stood up and let out a small yawn. “The tea was excellent by the way.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Sadayo stood and knew that the question was more of an order than a request and followed her mother into the kitchen and began to pull eggs, bacon, and a few other things from the fridge. “Do you and dad have any plans today? Usually he’s gone to work by now.”

“Your dad took the day off because wants to see you.” Her mother came over and gave her a quick shoulder hug. “I do too. We don’t see you that much anymore.”

“You barely saw me when I still worked here and was teaching.” Sadayo began whipping some eggs for small omelets while her mother finished prepping some miso soup.

“Well,” her mother gave a deep sigh and sniffed slightly as she chopped some green onions, “that was our fault. We….we made a mistake not standing by you about that poor boy. It wasn’t your fault, we know that, we just...people kept pestering us about those rumors about why he actually died and your relationship with him. We know they were false and your father and I beat ourselves up constantly about it.”

“Then you could have visited me after I transferred to Shujin. It’s not that far by train.” Her voice was calm, but Sadayo felt her blood pressure slowly begin to rise. “You and Dad had my number, you could have checked on me. I called you as often as I could between school and…other things.” She caught herself. She’d nearly let it slip the large amount of part-time jobs she’d taken to pay of Takase’s parents.

“You’re right,” she could hear her mother slowly begin to lose her patience and a long silence intervened between them. “Your father and I just figured you had new friends or were maybe…..finding someone to settle down with. We didn’t want to intrude. ”

Sadayo’s knife fell to the counter with a dull thud. She gripped the counter and bit her lip. Her heart was pounding in frustration and she kept shaking her head telling herself to keep calm.

“I’d have been doing those things if I wasn’t so busy with work. I didn’t have as much free time back then and my life is a bit more hectic but I do have a lot more free time now.”

“That’s a bit of a stretch.” Her mother had a quiet laugh in her voice. “You’re a vice principal now with more responsibility. I understand you had lesson plans and grading to deal with when you're teaching Japanese but I always figured administrative work was more….demanding.”

“Yeah it is.” Sadayo was beginning to feel slightly calmer but still felt something was a bit off. “It’s just more long term projects as opposed to several shorter ones.”

“Hmmm,” her mother was finishing some soup and asked Sadayo to taste it but when she refused her mother shrugged and let the soup finish simmering. “Can I ask you something, Sadayo?”

“Fire away,” she wanted to get helping her mother out of the way and go upstairs to sleep for a bit. She was feeling smothered and needed to escape.

“Please don’t take this the wrong way,” her mother had a cool tone in her voice that told Sadayo what was coming. “But, if you were so busy back then how did you and Akira manage to find time for each other. He was a young student, possibly with a rich social life, and you were….well a busy teacher with so many other students to take care of.”

Sadayo chuckled maliciously and shook her head. “Mother you do not want the answer to that question.”

“I do, Sadayo.” It was the first time Reika had actually been truly interested in her relationship. “I want to know how that young man weaseled...”

“He didn’t weasel!” The straw finally broke the camel’s back. “He didn’t do anything but be honest and give a damn about me!”

“He was a child,” her mother scoffed. “What could he have possibly known about...”

“He knows damn more about what was going on in my life than you did.” Sadayo stood to her full height, her temper was slowly burning brighter. “You want to know why I was so busy? Fine, I’ll tell you.” She rounded on her mother and while they were the same height, Sadayo seemed to tower over her. “Takase’s parents ate at me! They poked, prodded, and blackmailed me! You want to know what I was doing?! I was working part time jobs to pay off those bastards debts! I don’t know how many jobs I had and it was eating me alive! I kept getting led to believe that it was my fault when those bastards were working him to death and then when he died they took it out on me! Everyone took it out on me for trying to help that poor boy and I let the guilt overwhelm me! I left and it just followed me and I let them use it to live this extravagant life while I let them work me to death like they did their son.” She felt her heart pounding and wanted to cry but wouldn’t let her mother see it.  
“You have no idea what I did to survive. The jobs I….they weren’t that bad but…..I feel ashamed for taking some of them. I did things for people I didn’t really want to. Betrayed myself and my students. I was a husk Mother and I didn’t want what happened with Akira to happen but it did. He found out and he saved me from them and from myself.”

She looked up and saw her mother standing there, arms crossed and looking uncomfortable.

“You think I wanted you to come into town and see me in some of those jobs? You think I wanted to hide from you and Dad? I hid all of that from everyone; treated my students like nuisances and I treated him like garbage for months. I didn’t just suddenly decide to get into bed with him if that’s what you’ve been thinking all these years. He and I didn’t just look at each other in class and decide to try it out. He helped me! He got them off my case and helped me get my life back together. I am thankful every day that I met him, even if we never ended up together, but we did. And I tried to turn him down I did….I just….” she felt something strange happening like the breath was being sucked out of her and a sudden stabbing pain in her side.

“Sadayo,” her mother’s voice grew panicked. “Sadayo what’s the matter?”

“I can’t….I’m having trouble breathing.” Sadayo reached for the counter and grabbed it just in time before falling to her knees. Her hand slipped and several plates fell to the floor. The next thing she heard was the sound of heavy footfall, raised voices, and saw something move toward her. When her vision focused she saw black-haired figure in glasses appeared above her head as two voices began arguing with one another.

“Sadayo, it’s me.” His hand was holding hers and he cradled her in his arms. “It’s me, Akira. What’s the matter? How’re you feeling?”

“Akira,” her voice was strained, each word taking as much strength as she could spare. “I’m….my right side hurts...I can’t...breathe” She was shaking and gripping clutching at his shirt breathing heavily. “We...need hospital...baby….”

He nodded and asked for Sora to help move her to the car and get her to the nearest hospital. Sadayo winced as Akira and her father carefully carry her to the car. She could hear her mother asking her what was the problem, but Sadayo couldn’t answer. The cold air stung her skin and kept saying that she needed a doctor. When the door to the car opened she let out a sigh of relief at the warm air of the car and the feeling of a blanket being set on her and her head resting in his lap while her father backed out of the driveway.

Her hands wrapped around her stomach as she felt his hand stroking her hair. She could hear him on the phone with the hospital and asking her father for an arrival time. Sadayo couldn’t concentrate on anything other than the pain in her chest and the health of their baby.

“You’re both going to be okay,” she heard him whisper after hanging up. Her father was saying something to her, based on how often he was saying her. She felt Akira’s warm breath on her ear as he whispered, “I’m not going to let anything take you two from me.

 

The next thing she knew she was on a gurney with some nurse asking her questions about what she was feeling. She vaguely remembered saying something about her chest and lack of breath and the nurse relayed it to an arriving doctor and saying, “She’s at approximately eighteen weeks and her blood pressure is spiked. Grab Doctor….” she didn’t remember much after that, only the beeping of the heart monitor and far off voices.

He was frightened for the first time since the night he found out he was going to be a father. He’d gone out in hopes of helping her parents make a nice meal and had come back to find his fiancé on the floor and her mother practically screaming at her to tell her what was wrong.

When they’d appeared, Reika’s attention broke enough for Akira to separate the two of them and ask Sadayo was wrong. When he heard her mention the baby, his mind went to every possibly conceivable problem and knew that he had to get her to the hospital immediately. Risking it he asked for Sora to help him carry her out instead of waiting for an ambulance. He could barely control himself as Sora sped as much as he dared through the snow covered streets.

Akira had to keep himself from shouting through the phone as he tried to explain everything to the people on the other end and when they arrived, he’d kept pace with the gurney. The orderlies and nurses bombarded him with questions he’d answered to the best of his abilities. He was certain that Sora had heard him which meant that Reika would soon find out, but he didn’t care, he wanted to follow the gurney through the doors but was stopped by a nurse.

“I’m sorry, Kurusu-san,” the man’s voice was stern but kind. “But you’re going to have to wait out here.

“I’m her fiancé and that’s...,” he gulped and felt sick to his stomach when he heard her shout for him. “That’s my family you’re taking back there.”

“I understand, sir.” The man gave him a reaffirming squeeze on the shoulder. “But we need to figure everything out before we can take you back. I’ve been through this enough times to know that right now the best thing you can do is stay here and wait patiently for us.”

As the magnetic locks sealed on the door, Akirabegan mentally kicking himself for having left the house. She was alone, scared, and shouting for him. It wasn’t the first time he’d wished for his powers back over the years so he could help her, but he didn’t have them. Swallowing loudly he took a deep breath and reminded himself that he needed to keep calm, but still continued to beat himself up at leaving her.

He hadn’t wanted to get up to leave, not after his break down the night before. He’d stressed her out and while he’d slept quietly for the first time in a while, she’d stayed up and worked, worried about him all the while and when he woke he wanted to hold her but Sora insisted on his help. He had tried to come up with a reasonable excuse not to go, but he couldn’t and was left her with a soft kiss and a note explaining where he’d gone.

It was just before five and the two of them drove down to the markets where fresh fish and winter vegetables. After an hour of letting Sora pick out the foods, Akira had made the request to buy some of his own groceries to make them a couple of meals. Sora had agreed and Akira took another hour and a half looking for fresh ingredients to make one the curry Sojiro had taught him. Sora had questioned Akira about his choices and when he heard the answered had genuinely laughed.

“Curry and coffee?! Sounds like a good mix boy. Just make sure you clean yourself properly afterwards.” Akira had actually laughed with the man and it seemed like an actual bonding moment and they conversed a bit about work and Sadayo until they heard Reika shouting to Sadayo to tell her what was wrong.

It seemed like an eternity since they’d been in the car and he felt himself instinctively beginning for an entry point until Sora tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and found Sora’s fists clenched, his jaw set, and his eyes narrowed. Akira knew he was large but now the man reminded him of his old Thor persona.

“What did they mean by eighteen weeks?” Sora’s nostrils flared as he spoke and his fists shook. His body told Akira everything, that he’d already figured it out but he wanted confirmation. Akiratried to figure out how best to explain the situation but Sora’s arm flew to his chest and pressed him painfully against the wall with a dull thud. There was a shuffle of movement and there were suddenly several voices shouting at Sora to stop before they called security.

Akira raised his hand to tell the concerned staff that it was all right and he locked eyes with the larger man, trying desperately to keep his cool. He’d resigned to the possibility of Sora getting physical with him over Sadayo. Akira had known it since he’d first met the man. Sora was a law abiding citizen and for years he knew the man thought of him as nothing more than a petty ex-con who had seduced his daughter and in turn made her into a criminal.

Akiragulped, his gaze locked onto Sora’s and he calmly said, “You know what they mean.”

“Don’t give me any lip boy.” Small flecks of spit splattered against Akira’s glasses. “There are a few things that you need to know the time for. Just be straight with me and don’t give me any fucking lip.”

Akira felt his feet slip, but Sora’s arm kept him from falling to the floor.

“She’s,” he gulped in air against the pressure from Sora’s arm, “she’s pregnant. I don’t know what happened in the house but right now I’m just as scared as you.”

Soras arm began to shake against Akira's chest. His eyes darted between the locked door, the staff, and the man he had pinned to the wall. Finally he growled and let Akira go, letting the younger man fall to the floor, breathing heavily.

“Mother…..goddamit!” Sora began pacing the room and the nurses came to check on Akira who waved them away, his sole focus on the hands now pulling at Sora’s hair.

He took a few deep breaths before pulling himself up and as he dusted himself off he heard Sora ask, “Why didn’t you tell us before you arrived?”

“You two barely talk to us as it is and you hate me.” Akira was finally getting some of his strength back and he wandered into the waiting room.

“We don’t hate you." Sora was now sitting in a large chair and gazing at the former thief. “We just…”

“You just don’t want me to be with Sadayo.” Akira took a seat next to Sora so that he could control the volume of the conversation. “I know what you think of me and I know what you think of her. I’m not going to go into the details because she asked me not to.” Akira looked up from his seat and looked through the windows on the door. “But, I will say that you’re going to be a grandfather and I'm not going anywhere.”

Sora cursed under his breath and stared at the door for a moment. Akira could see that he was trying to avoid the shame of having to look at the staff he’d frightened, but also hoping to see a doctor or a nurse so he could hear about his daughter. Finally he turned his attention back to the younger man and sighed.

“I’m sorry for my actions.” Sora met Akira’s gaze and smirked at the look of shock behind the glasses. “Don’t act so surprised. I’m man enough to know when I’ve screwed up and I screwed up big today. While I was arguing with Reika you were taking care of Sadayo and that,” he patted Akira’s shoulder, “that speaks volumes.”

“I’ve hurt her enough in the past,” Akira felt Sora’s eyes burn into him at this admission. “But, I’m trying to be the man she deserves…the father our baby deserves.”

Sora nodded and rubbed his eyes before getting up and bowing to the staff and offering his apologies. They returned it and offered their condolences before letting him sit. When he’d gotten comfortable Sora quietly asked, “Has she had any problems that you know about? Any signs to indicate that something like this would happen?”

“Blood pressure is a little higher and some swelling.” Akira tried to remember anything out of the ordinary but he couldn’t. “We had her on bed rest the past few days due to work and everything seemed fine according to her doctor. We’ve been doing classes, she’s been resting, watching her diet and we’re about to begin rearranging the house to set up the nursery.” His eyes went to the small windows of the door where it was deathly empty and shuddered.

“I don’t know what happened.”

Sora ran a hand through his hair and smacked his head repeatedly with his fist and growled. “Goddamn it.” Sora wandered off to find a chair and fell into it rubbing his temple. Sora’s phone rang and he snorted at the name and asked, “I’ll be right back.”

The annoyance told Akira that Reika had finally mustered up the courage to call and he let the man go without any complaints. He didn’t want to even hear the woman’s voice at the moment. All he could think about was the faint sounds of what sounded like an argument before hearing the crash of china and what could possibly have happened. Deciding he needed a distraction, he concluded that he’d better find a way to let the group know and pulled his phone out and began dialing his friends. He could have easily used the chat but he needed to focus and someone with a level head on their shoulders.

After checking who was in the country, Akira made his decision and dialed the number and waited.

It rang several times until finally a voice asked, “How’re you doing today, Akira-kun?”

“Hey, Haru.” Akira took a shaky breath and coughed. “Do you have a few minutes to talk?”

“Of course,” he could hear the smile on her face become broken with the slightest hint of concern. “Naoko, Akihiko, can you please finish up the breakfast rush I have an important call to take?” There were voices of agreement and the shutting of a door followed by the creek of a chair.

“Is everything okay? It’s not like you to sound so upset.”

He smiled at Haru’s insight and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m at the hospital in Sadayo’s hometown right now.”

“Is everything all right?” He heard her chair creak and knew she’d straighten up. “Do you need me to help with getting a doctor or any treatments?”

“Nothing like that,” he choked gratefully. “They’re in the middle of checking her out right now.” He took a shaking breath and looked at the empty hallway expecting someone to come walking out, but no one came. “I just needed to talk to someone.”

“Tell me everything.”

Akira spent a good half-hour telling her everything. About their trip through the mountains to her parent’s house. His breakdown and his time spent with Sora and then finally their trip to the hospital. Haru kept quiet, save for the occasional question but when he finished she sounded as tired as he felt.

“I see,” she sighed heavily and he could hear the clinking of china as she took a sip of something. “Do you need me to do anything for you? I can get ahold of the others and let them know.”

“That’d be a big help, Haru.” Akira finally felt some modicum of relief. “I’m sorry to drop this on you.”

“Think nothing of it, Akira.” She had a small chuckle in her voice. “We’re the Phantom Thieves, we’re not just a team, we’re family and family helps when times get rough.”

They said their goodbyes and he pulled his headphones out and began some music in hopes of getting his mind off of everything. But it didn’t do anything except block out the ambient noise. He had eyes for only one thing and that one thing was the door they had taken his family through. He could only focus on the forms walking through their now. He didn’t see anyone who’d taken her back and he was starting to get anxious. He was getting ready to ask the nurses for an update when he felt Sora’s hand on his shoulder.

Akira removed his headphones and coldly asked, “Did you tell her?”

“I didn’t tell her.” His voice was raspy and he was swirling a cup full of what smelt like cheap coffee. “But, I did tell her we’d be here for a while and there would be a chance you won’t be coming home with me.”

“I don’t plan on it.” his voice held no emotion and he saw Sora grimace at his apathy. “I’ll find a hotel or see if they’ll allow me to stay. You can go home if you want.”

“I’d like to stay.” Sora drained the rest of his coffee. “That is if you’ll have me.”

“I can’t stop you from staying.” Akira gave his future father-in-law a sour look. “I’m only here because she needed me to come. She wanted to tell you in person that you would be grandparents and…” he paused before deciding not to tell him about their engagement. “And she couldn’t face you alone. She knows how you feel and I know I’m not welcome, but I came because I love her and I would never abandon her.”

“You’re welcome here.” Sora sat down in the chair next to the fuming young man. “I’m trying to accept you, I am. But she’s my daughter and she made a stupid choice all those years ago that could have gotten both of you in a lot of trouble.” Akira looked over when heard the sound of genuine forgiveness in Sora’s voice. “But I’ve seen now that while it was stupid,” he took a deep breath before closing his eyes. “I just wish she’d have talked to us and that you two…you two would have waited just a bit longer.

He was about to reply when a person in a white coat stepped out. She was a young woman, maybe as old as Sadayo, a head shorter than his fiancé and a bit rounder. She looked worn, but carried herself confidently and kept her hair cut just below her ears.

“Kurusu Akira?” She looked around and smiled when she saw Akira stand and raise his hand. Sora stood as well and walked toward the doctor. “Who are you sir?”

“Kawakami Sora, Kawakami Sadayo is my daughter.” Sora gave a slight bow. “How is she? Can we see her?”  
The doctor smiled at the concern and flipped through some of the paperwork before saying, “Your daughter is fine, Kawakami-san. We have her resting comfortably in a private room but unfortunately she does need to stay for a few days for further tests, but everything is under control.”

“Can I see her?” This was the first time Akira had heard weakness in Sora’s voice and it pained him when the doctor gave her reply.

“I can’t allow that.” The doctor held the clipboard to her chest and sighed. “Kawakami-san has requested that we only grant any further knowledge and visitation to Kerr-san. She does thank you however, but right now she asks for some space.”

“I see,” Sora’s face dropped in disappointment at this news. He seemed shaken and upset but took several heavy breaths and gave Akira a defeated look. “Take care of her for me.” He looked on the verge of tears before stomping off out the exit.

“I hate having to do that.” The doctor’s soft face turned sour as she shook her head. “But I can only do what my patient says I can.” She composed herself and gave Akira a worn look. “I know you want to see her but we need to discuss a few things beforehand. Can you follow me please?”

He nodded, compliant with her request and walked down the hallway. It smelt sterile and he hated it. He didn’t mind clean, but hospitals always bothered him. The utilitarian structure and antiseptic taste it left on his tongue made his skin crawl. But he’d have to endure and was glad when she let him into her office and poured him some water before sitting across from him. He drank heavily and sighed as she pulled out the paperwork.

“You are Kawakami-san’s fiance?” She was double checking her notes as she asked this.

“Yes, we got engaged a couple of months ago.” He sipped at his remaining water and thumbed the rim of the glass as the doctor nodded and removed papers she needed.

“That’s nice.” The woman gave him a sincere smile as she took a sip of water herself before saying, “Now I want you to know that Kawakami-san is fine. She will be okay but we will need to keep her for a couple of days for testing.”

“Thank God.” Akira nearly dropped his glass in relief but caught himself and then asked, “Are you able to tell me anything about what happened? I mean she was fine last night and then this morning I’m rushing her to the hospital.”

“Kawakami-san gave her permission once she was stable and I can tell you that most likely what has happened is a condition called, preeclampsia.”

“What’s that?” He was sure he’d heard the word before but couldn’t quite place where he’d heard it.

“It’s essentially a condition of high-blood pressure brought on by pregnancy. There are several complications that can arise and truthfully it’s very uncommon given that she’s under twenty weeks pregnant. But,” she saw Akira about to begin machine gunning her with questions, “if we’re right we can handle it quiet easily. We’re in contact with Doctor’s Takemi and Furuya and are trying to formulate a plan. Kawakami-san’s on some mild meds and we’re monitoring her and the baby closely to make sure no extra stress is added, but I do need to ask you a few questions to help fill in some gaps if you’re okay with that?”

“Whatever you need.”

He answered questions for about half-an-hour. Explaining Sadayo’s physical activity, how often she napped, their diets, and a long list of mundane things that he hoped would help. Finally she led him to the room where Sadayo was sleeping quietly. They’d put a breathing apparatus in her nostrils and on one of her forefingers was the little clasp that tracked her pulse. She was on her left side facing the door, arms wrapped around her stomach. They’d left her necklace on and had helped her into a hospital gown. She looked pale, but healthier than she had curled up on the floor of her parent’s kitchen.

“I’ve talked to the security office and staff. If you wish to stay you are cleared to. I’d let her rest for a bit. Let her wake up naturally, she’s had a tough couple of hours.” She showed him where a couple extra blankets and pillows were before taking her leave. “There’s a remote for the television next to the bed and if you need something please press the green button and not the red. Red is only for emergencies.”

He thanked her and shut the door slightly before grabbing a chair. It was more comfortable than it let on, but his body refused to relax. He wanted to climb into the bed and hold onto her. It was a tight fit, but his skinny body didn’t take up much room and he wrapped an arm around. Her breath was soft and she was warm. Climbing beneath the heavy covers, he felt the familiar presence of a pillow between her legs.

He slipped into a quiet sleep and when he woke, she was limping through the room with the help of the male nurse he’d spoken to earlier. Akira’s eyes found the clock on the wall and saw he’d been sleeping for a good four hours. When he sat up, the male nurse and Sadayo both looked at him in mild surprise.

“Glad to see you’re awake.” Sadayo gave him a tired smile and let the nurse finish helping her walk to the restroom. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

The nurse shuffled uncomfortably and coughed saying, “I’m sorry about this. Doctor’s orders said she needs someone to help her around and she said to let you sleep.”

“It’s not a problem.” Akira gave him an uncomfortable look and coughed. “Do you need to be here while she finishes?”

“You can help her the rest of the way.” The man gave him an apologetic look. “I just need to be here in case something happens or the doctors clear her.”

“I see.” Akira got up and headed to the bathroom just as he heard the sink shut off. “Sadayo I’m outside the door okay?”

“Good,” she opened the door and extended her hand and he took it carefully. “Thank you for your help,” she said to the nurse.

“Part of the job,” he said with a small tinge of pink to his face. “If you need any assistance, please don’t hesitate to ask for it.”

Sadayo bowed her head slightly and they both thanked him as lead her to the bed. When she sat, the nurse reconnected her monitors and checked her vitals before marking them down before leaving them alone.

“He seems nice,” Sadayo sighed as Akira helped her pull her legs onto the bed and used the remote to elevate her legs.

“He’s paid to be nice.” Akira began rubbing her ankles and she giggled as a slight tickling sensation ran up her legs.

“Is someone jealous?” She let out a small squeal when he tickled her ankle.

“Not in the slightest.” He released her ankle and cautiously rubbed her calf.

“Then why are you judging him?” She adjusted herself and gave him a serious look. “He’s good at his job and I don’t think judging him without knowing him is very kind.”

“You’ve made your point.” Akira patted her calf and noticed a large bruise on her right thigh and lifted her gown carefully. “What the hell happened?”

“It’s from the fall.” She winced as he ran a finger along it. “I haven’t really bruised since becoming pregnant but they noticed it and that sent off some alarms.” She pulled away from the pain his finger brought and she groaned. “They also noticed the swelling in my legs and hands and they poked me with a bunch of needles.” She showed him the bandages from where they’d drawn blood. “I don’t remember much after that.”

Akira’s hand ran up to her stomach and rubbed it gently. “They’re sure both of you are okay?”

“Yeah.” She smiled and rubbed the hand on her stomach. “Just going to be here a couple of days. I thought they told you?”

“They did.” He pulled a chair forward and sat down before resting his head on her belly. “I just wanted to hear it from you. I was so scared.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She stroked his hair and they both smiled; the clock on the wall ticking quietly in the background.


	3. Chapter 3

November Rain a Persona 5 fanfiction  
Rating: M  
Pairing: Sadayo Kawakami/Protagonist

Summary:  
Akira Kurusu and Sadayo Kawakami take a trip to Sadayo's hometown to tell her parents the good news. The problem is her parents have never warmed to Akira and this disapproval finally leads Sadayo and her parents butting heads.

Notes:  
This story is set six years after the game and two months after my Fic "Reunions, Rewards, and Roads".

These are just my own speculations about how this particular version of the relationship might go. It's all ideas in my head and how I feel my version of the protagonist would react. I know it's not the canon name but I use the name I chose because it helps me remain connected to the character and work through the relationship. I will be using some adult language, most of it by Sadayo, and there will also be the discussion of mental and physical on the characters. I feel that even though it was in a cognitive world there would be physical and mental effects. To them in the moment the injuries were real and so I figured some of it would translate over to the real world. Also these characters saw hell...and that...that always has an effect.

Altus owns all in game characters and the plot. I own nothing nor profit!

Chapter 3:

The next few days passed with mild anxiety as test after test was run. Akira had been given permission to stay with Sadayo during this period and, with Sadayo’s permission, contacted Sora to see if he could get their luggage to them. Sora agreed and arrived the morning after Sadayo had been admitted. Reika, according to her husband, couldn’t bring herself to come and Sadayo barely hinted at her disappointment which bothered the man.

“Sadayo can you please talk to her?” Sora was trying to keep his mind focused but was growing agitated at Akira's constant investigating to make sure he'd brought everything.

“I’m willing to talk when she’s willing to listen to me.” Sadayo set down her bowl of oatmeal and crossed her arms. “I don’t blame her for my being in the hospital, but I’m not ready to forgive her for everything else just yet. I came in hopes to make peace but she wants to keep pushing the topic.”

“She wants to understand.” Sora put a large hand on top of his daughter’s head and ruffled her hair. “You two didn’t make this easy on us. She’s doing her best to understand.”

“She has a funny way of showing it.” Sadayo bit into a grape and fumed for a moment. Akira felt her eyes fall to him and he looked up from his freshly set up laptop and shrugged.

“I don’t really have anything to say on the matter.” He looked at Sora, who scoffed, and Sadayo who looked upset with him. Swallowing the rock in his throat, Akira gave her an apologetic look and added, “What I mean is that I rarely talk to Reika so I don’t know where her head is at. Truthfully, I think she is trying and that you should talk to her at some point, but when is up to you.”

The looks on both their faces forced him to retreat back into his work while they continued their discussion; ending with Sadayo agreeing to contact her mother at some point and ignoring Akira for part of the afternoon.

For the remainder of their time, Akira spent much of his time working as much as he could on some contracts, doing phone calls to clients, and coordinating projects with Futaba. They’d barely met a deadline due to a shipping issue and Akira was worried that the client would try and short them on the bill until he saw the payment follow through in full and breathed a huge sigh of relief since the payment was the amount they had promised if they decided to go with their company. When he’d told Sadayo this, she set her book down and pulled him into a deep kiss that had to get interrupted by the nurse and doctor with the portable ultrasound.

Neither of them got tired of these. The first time Akira had seen one his heart had stopped when the doctor showed him the small being growing inside his fiancé. He’d always thought he’d be prepared to see it, but when the doctor turned on the audio and he heard the beating of the baby’s heart he nearly lost all composure. Since then he’d asked for pictures after each ultrasound and took over making a baby book which Sadayo teased him relentlessly for.

Though she was constantly poked and prodded, Sadayo remained in high spirits. She had her fiancé by her side, her test results were looking good, and she was slowly healing the rift between her and her father. It was difficult, she could see the discomfort on her father’s face when he came to visit her after his shift, but she could see he was trying.

By her fourth day in the hospital, she still hadn’t called her mother. She didn’t know what to say but she knew she needed to since her mother sent meals with her father to make sure she wasn’t stuck eating only hospital food. It was a welcome break from the bland food they’d been giving her. Despite her appreciation, Sadayo noticed that the food sent was just enough to feed her, leading her to share it with him and order cafeteria fare regardless.

Finally on the morning of her sixth day, Sadayo was being released and she could barely contain her excitement as Akira helped her get dressed. She had bruises on her arms from where they’d drawn her blood so using her arms was more difficult than usual. When she was dressed the doctor came in, ready to discuss the changes to Sadayo’s regiment.

“So what do we do?” Sadayo asked from the bed as she began putting her shoes on. She looked over her shoulder to find him sitting there, his pen moving and eyes focused on the notepad in front of him.

“Well, we’re going to make a few changes to your diet. Nothing too massive, just a few changes to salt intake and sweets.” Sadayo whined at this, but agreed reluctantly. “I know it’s not fun but we’re going to have to. It’ll help with your blood pressure and we’re going to put you on some mild medications to help control it. Dr. Takemi and Dr. Furuya are going to be keeping a closer eye on you. That means more visits and a few extra ultrasounds and blood tests.”

“Akira are you listening?” Sadayo had checked to see if he was listening again and found him still focused on his notepad and was getting annoyed. When he looked up, he held up the notepad and pointed at everything the doctor had mentioned in regards to her diet. She felt flustered at her “Are you going to be able to come to these new appointments?”

“We may have to bring in the contingency plan.” He flipped through his schedule and saw he had at least five meetings in the next two weeks. “I’ll make a few calls on the way home. If Ryuji can’t make it I’ll check with the others to see if they can spare the time.”

The two women nodded and then went back to discussing a mild exercise regimen and other things while he continued to jot down notes.

When they were done, Sadayo asked if he could go and get them some food from a nearby bakery. It took almost an hour since many people were on their way to work, but finally he had acquired the necessary coffee, tea, and three doctor approved breakfast sandwiches. As he made his way to the room he waved hello to the nurses at the desk only to have one of them stop him before entering the room.

“What’s the matter,” he asked the young lady who was watching the front desk.

“She asked that you call her if her visitor was still in the room.” The nurse gave him a nervous look before going back to her work.

Akira raised an eyebrow and asked what the problem was, but she just repeated Sadayo’s request. Taking out his headphones, he dialed her number and waited. He heard the phone connect and then a clattering as Reika asked, “Who was that?”

“It was Akira. I’ll call him back if we aren’t done before he gets here.” Sadayo sounded flustered but Akira kept quiet to the staff since he knew they were still monitoring Sadayo’s vitals.

“I see.” Reika sounded both impressed and mildly disappointed that he hadn’t returned. “I wanted to talk to him.”

“About what, mother?” Sadayo huffed and he heard what sounded like a glass of water being poured. “You’ve already made it clear. You’re never going to approve of us being together. You’re never going to accept the fact that I was the one who...”

“Sadayo, please I don’t need the guilt trip” Reika was clearly disturbed by the fact that they were having this conversation, but he could tell she wasn’t trying to avoid it. “I want to listen to your side, but I don’t need to hear how you...”

“You don’t need to hear what mother?” Akira noticed that the nurses looked at the door concernedly but didn’t make any looks in his direction which told him they couldn’t hear anything clearly. He was grateful for that because he knew they would have stopped working when he heard her say rather loudly, “You don’t want to hear the fact that I screwed him when he was seventeen?”

He could hear Reika’s chair squeak before she coughed out, “There is no need for such vulgarity, Sadayo.”

“No my being vulgar would be I fucked his brains out.”

Akira’s face flushed bright red at these words and Reika gasped.

“Don’t act like that mother, it’s the truth. I fucked him when he was underage and I’m owning up to it. I promised myself and him that I wouldn’t lie if confronted with our relationship and I’m staying true to my promise.” Sadayo sounded calm and he noticed by the lack of a reaction from the nurses that there wasn’t any reason to worry. “I will not lie and say that what we did wasn’t a crime, because it was. I slept with someone, who at the time, was a minor. I made the conscious decision to do it and I don’t regret it.” Sadayo took a deep breath before adding, “I wasn’t lying when I said I tried to turn him down. I did, Mother. I tried in order to protect him and myself. But,” he heard scraping before a dull thud and heavy sigh, “I couldn’t and...it caused us so much stress and pain. And then he got sent to the reformatory after doing so many good things for people.”

“I’m not saying he’s a horrible person.” Reika sounded genuine in this and Akira felt a small amount of gratitude toward her.

“But you treat him like one, regardless of everything he’s done.”

“What has he done, Sadayo?” Reika sounded like she was finally beginning to lose her cool. “I understand that he helped you get over something horrible in your life but do you think that was worth risking your career and your life for a second time?

“He didn’t just save me, Mother.” Sadayo sounded like she was on the verge of tears. “He saved so many people that nobody will ever know what he and our friends did. They still think he’s a criminal. He still occasionally gets hassled by the police when he hasn’t done anything illegal. I’ve seen it happen when he was simply buying us coffee; cops will stop him outside the shop and he has to waste his time explaining that they have no cause to.”

“Then why do you stay if he’s never going to be free of suspicion?”

“Because of reasoning like yours.” He heard Sadayo blow her nose before continuing. “Because I love him and because I want to be happy with him. We make each other happy despite the drama in our lives. We take care of each other and we trust each other. We make each other want to be better people.”

There was the scraping of glass across what was possibly a table and then a dull thud finally by silence. Akira didn’t dare enter the room at this moment. He figured it wise to give them a moment and what followed proved his hypothesis correct.

“I just think you should have thought this out more. For you and for your….”

“Don’t you dare bring our child into this.” Akira could tell she was speaking through gritted teeth. “You have no right to even...”

“I at least have enough of a right as your mother to voice my concern.” Reika’s voice had risen slightly. “You even admitted yourself that you committed. What do you think would have happened if you'd gotten pregnant back then and his parents had decided to sue you or you were sent away to prison?"

“Then I would have served my sentence and we would have figured it out; and the same goes for him.” Sadayo sounded strained but he could sense her honest, he could also sense her aggravation knowing that playing into her mother's fears was the only way to get her to listen. He knew the laws, and so did Sadayo. But despite Sadayo having spent hours trying to talk to Reika about what could have happened, the woman had shut herself out to all reason even after all these years. “I said I wouldn’t deny it and I won’t. I know what I did and if I’m to go to prison for what I did then so be it. If you want to report me I won't stop you. If you don’t want to and are willing to move past it then I will move past it. If you cannot then….we don’t have any reason to continue speaking.”

“Sadayo,” there was pleading in Reika’s voice but he couldn’t hear anything in Sadayo’s.

“I do love you and I am grateful that you are concerned but this is my life and our child. If you’re willing to forgive us and be there for us without the presence of the baby then I’m willing to talk. If you aren’t and are only here to get in our good graces merely because of the baby you can go. We are a package deal, you don’t get us if you don’t want him.”

There was moment of silence, the sound of the scraping of a chair and then the door open from the corner of his eye. Unplugging his headphones he stuck everything in his pocket and watched as Reika exited the room. Tears stung her face and she squeaked when she saw him standing there. He felt a pang of guilt at the sight of her. Her eyes were puffy from lack of sleep and her normally crisp appearance was disheveled and he wanted to do something to comfort her. He may not have liked her much, but he was engaged to her daughter and he didn’t want her to leave like this. Bending down he took his coffee from the small tray it was in and handed it to her. She jumped a bit and stared at the coffee. After a moment she took it, sipped, and then smiled gratefully.

“I’m going to try.” She said this more to the cup than to Akira. She looked up and gave him a half smirk. “Take care of them, please?”

“Always.” He bowed slightly and she returned it before walking off down the hall.

Entering the room, he handed over the food which Sadayo wolfed down with an almost animalistic fervor.

“Did you get yourself anything,” she asked after swallowing the third sandwich.

“You just ate it.” He laughed at her blush and wiped away the mess of egg and bread. “I also gave your mother my coffee.”

“I’m sorry.” She sipped her tea and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. “Did you hear everything?”

“I did.” He sat back and folded his hands on his stomach. “Are you okay with that decision?”

“As much as I can be.” She took another deep sip and exhaled. “Dad is willing to move past everything but she’s not. I’m not asking she fully accept us, given what I admitted but,” she rubbed her stomach, “you shouldn’t do things just because of a baby. You do them because you genuinely care about all parties involved, not just one.”

“If it makes you feel better,” he said after a moment and placed his hand on her stomach. “She did say she’d try. I acted like I didn’t know what she meant but she asked me to take care of you two before leaving.”

Sadayo smiled and then squeezed his hand before downing her tea and asking, “Where the hell is that doctor with my discharge paperwork?”

The trip to the station was quiet. Sora had shown up to drive him but Reika had decided to take public transit home allowing them to have a stress free trip to the train station. Sora even gave Akira a handshake and a clap on the shoulder before hugging his daughter gently and saying he’d call about a visit soon.

“I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too.” He waved them off and soon they were speeding home.

The snow had let up and what little had fallen in Tokyo had melted with the torrential downpour that had appeared out of nowhere. When they exited the station, they had to scramble for a cab and were soaked before they even reached the front door.

“Well at least I don’t need to shower," Akira laughed in the entry way as he began pulling out some dry clothes.

“I do,” Sadayo replied after sniffing herself. “Can you hand me my nightgown please?” He rummaged for a minute and handed over a nightgown covered in small bluebirds.

She thanked him and gave him a kiss before asking, “Would you mind making some tea and maybe ordering some food? I’m not going to be too long.”

“Pizza sound good?”

She kissed him and moaned happily before separating. “Pizza sounds lovely. And I’m going to soak in a bath not shower. I’ll yell if I need you.”

When she disappeared, he made sure to order a pizza with approved ingredients and stared around the living room to try and figure out a way to put their failed weekend behind them. With Mona gone, there wasn’t the usual remains of a late night mess from the cat’s midnight movie fests and he wanted to do something for her after the hell of the last few days. Taking a moment to think it over, he growled in frustration and was about to give up when Ryuji’s face popped up on his screen.

“What’s the matter, Ryuji?” There were only two reasons Ryuji had to call him lately and he was hoping for the positive answer.

“Hey, Joker!” Ryuji sounded out of breath but excited. “Before I get into my shit, how’re you holding up brother? I’ve been trying to call you for like three hours.”

“We must have lost our signal." Akira stopped in the hallway and ran his finger along a picture of him and Sadayo at an amusement park. "We just got home and Sadayo’s upstairs taking a bath right now.”

“How’d it go with her parents?” Ryuji was one of the few people who knew the extent of the issues that Sadayo’s parents had with their relationship.

“Well,” Akira ran a hand through his hair and looked at the ceiling where he heard Sadayo’s footsteps, “her dad shaking hand was the highlight of the weekend.”

“Shit man,” Ryuji’s voice hid a small laugh, “sounds like a good weekend, despite the hospital visit.”  
“Yeah that,”Akira headed to the kitchen and poured himself some juice, “I don’t want to have to do something like that ever again.”

“I hear you.” Ryuji yawned loudly and smacked his lips. “Hey man, I know I promised to be the first to tell you, but since I couldn’t get ahold of you I kind of had to tell everyone else.”

“You’re shitting me.” Akira nearly dropped his glass at what Ryuji was hinting at. “Jun had the baby?”

“Babies brother!” Ryuji seemed to regain some of his trademarked energy.

“Wait?!” Akira’s brains rattled through the possibilities and asked, “You mean you two have been lying to us about having twins?!”

“Sorry, man.” There was a bit of a chuckle in Ryuji’s voice. “That’s why we told you guys to just get us things like the stroller and stuff. Figured freaking you all out would be hysterical.”

“I hate you, both of you.”Akira was smiling and he knew Ryuji could hear it in his voice.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” He heard someone shout for Ryuji and said he’d be a couple of minutes.

“What names did you decide to go with?” He knew they had at least three names for either gender and was curious at what they’d decided to go with.

“Akemi and Kaito.” Ryuji’s pride beamed through the phone.

“Good choices.” Akira felt himself smiling at the sound of the names. “Congratulations man and give Jun my love.”

“I will, man.” Ryuji’s laughter echoed in his voice. “We’ll invite everyone over soon to meet the kids. I’ll talk to you later my mom just showed up.”  
“Have a good night and again congratulations.”He hung up and chuckled at himself as he sipped his juice.

He couldn’t believe Ryuji was actually a father. In the years since he’d met Jun, Ryuji had matured rather quickly. The woman had a calmly influence over him and the rest of the group was thankful for it since without it Ryuji would have flunked out of college if it wasn’t for her.

Jun was brought over on a soccer scholarship from the United States and was third generation Japanese-American. She met Ryuji at college out of mere chance while running track. She noticed Ryuji’s limp and offered to help him since she was also studying sports medicine and they ended up engaged within a year of meeting, then married within six months in Hawaii.

Setting his juice down, an idea struck him like a lightning bolt. Picking up the phone he began flipping through the files until he found what he was looking for and slowly an idea began to form.

As she wiped away the fog on the mirror Sadayo let out a relaxed grunt and sighed happily at feeling like her old self. The hospital didn’t have a shower for her and the bath wipes they gave her barely made her feel clean. She dressed in the bluebird night gown and smiled as she combed her hair. Despite the events of the past week, Sadayo felt safe in the shelter of their home. She was still recovering from the scare, but with the regimen she, Akira , and the doctors had agreed on she was feeling better, but still disappointed.

She wished things had gone differently with her mother, that was one of the thing she’d wanted to go well, but at the end of the day her mother had still left her. Rubbing her stomach she wished her mother could offer her love and advice, but it wasn’t meant to be, at least right now. Despite this, Sadayo couldn’t help but feel warm as she turned and lifted her night gown to look at the small bump.

“I can’t wait to meet you.” She kissed her hand and gave her stomach a gentle pat before heading downstairs. She could smell the pizza and felt her stomach grumble and wished she could feel the baby move; they were both waiting for that.

Akira had taken to playing around her stomach in hopes of catching the first feel. She found it adorable but he had this habit of accidentally tickling her and she’d taken to tightly wrapping a blanket around her stomach to keep it from happening. She didn’t enjoy keeping him from touching her. She enjoyed his touch, how he instinctively found his way to his stomach in his sleep, but she didn’t enjoy the distraction when she was trying to work.

When she entered the kitchen she found the pizza spread out on a thin butcher’s block along with some chopped fruit and what appeared to be smoothies in margarita glasses. Picking up a small piece of pizza she looked around to ask him what was going on and nearly dropped her food when she saw the living room.

In the forty-five minutes it’d taken her to bathe, Akira had moved several of the fake plants they’d scattered around the house into the living room, thrown a few flowery blankets over the couch and had a tropical background showing on the television. But that all paled in comparison to the Hawaiian shirt and shorts combination he was wearing.

“What is going on,” Sadayo asked after licking the remnants of her pizza of her hand.

“Aloha,” he exclaimed, a bright smile on his face and arms wide as if showing off an impressive project. “Welcome to our own private beach.”

Sadayo couldn’t contain it and burst out laughing at the declaration.

“What’s so funny?” He approached her, his smile faltering a bit at her laughter. “You don’t like it.”

She took his face in her hands and kissed him deeply. “I adore it,” she smiled, her chin resting on his chest. “You were just so cute when you were showing off.” Looking at the table, she noticed a bit of mango and pulled him over and fed him a slice.

He took it, and licked her fingers in the process, before gesturing at the table and the living room. “I know it looks weird.”

“It does,” chuckled Sadayo, “but I love it because you put so much effort into it and besides,” she took a sip of the smoothie and her eyes raised at how good it tasted, “with a spread like this who could be mad.”

Picking up his own slice of pizza, he took a small bite and a sip of his own drink, “Of course you’d be happy when there’s food involved.”

Sadayo shot him an amused scowl and stuck out her tongue. “You’re just as culpable as me in regards to my current condition, Kurusu. Keep this up and I can keep you in the dog house for the next four and half months.”

“Now let’s not get too crazy.” Akira set the crust from his slice down and went for a bit of orange. “You know I’m happy with simple manual labor and dictation for the duration of your pregnancy.”

“I’d like to see that.” Sadayo had to stop eating her second slice out of fear of choking. “Maybe Mona can give you tips on how to dictate to yourself since you’ve already mastered the manual labor portion.”

Akira nearly choked from laughter and had to wipe his mouth free of smoothie while Sadayo continued to laugh at the imagery. When he was cleaned up, he pulled her close and gave her a kiss.

“You’re a twisted lady, Kawakami.” His left hand rested on her lower back and his right rubbed her face gently.

“I just know what buttons of yours to press.” Her arms wrapped around his back and she rested her hands on the small of his back. She stood on her tiptoes and gave him a soft kiss. He returned it with his own, a gentle kiss that sent warm waves of contentment through her. When they separated she rested her head on his chest. “So why did you do all this?” She stepped away briefly and grabbed another slice of pizza and shared it with him.

“Ryuji called,” he said through a mouthful of pizza. “Jun had the babies.”

“Babies?” The pizza fell to the floor with a small splat. “What do you mean ‘babies’?”

“Apparently,” he bent down and cleaned up the pizza, “they’ve been hiding the fact that she was having twins.”

“Those little…,” Sadayo bit into a piece of fruit and tapped her foot angrily. “We spent all that time stressing about what to buy them and they were laughing behind our backs.”

“Do you want to know?” Akira took a bite of the fruit and pulled her close. “The sex I mean?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Sadayo drained her smoothie and took another bite of pizza. “I know we can find out soon and I want to know, but at the same time I want to be surprised.” She handed him the slice and asked, “What about you?”

“I kind of want to know.” He finished the slice and shrugged at the look she gave him. “I mean I’m not obsessing but at the same time it’d just be easier when people ask me what we’re having.”

She hummed at this and nibbled on a piece of fruit, her attention turned to living room again. “So what made you want to do this to living room?”

“Glad you asked.” His face lit up again at the question. “Well I was thinking that since this week didn’t go as planned.”

“It sucked,” she stated after taking her own bite. “I think that describes it rather succinctly.”

“It does,” Akira agreed with a shrug and wrapped his arms around her waist. “But I was thinking of a way to help you feel better. So after talking with Ryuji I remembered something on my phone and found this playlist I made back during their wedding.”

“A playlist made you want to turn our living room into a fake tropical getaway?” Sadayo rolled her eyes in disbelief and turned around gave him a kiss. “You find inspiration in weird places my love.”

“It wasn’t just the playlist.” he set down the slice and pulled her into the living room.

“I see,” replied Sadayo, following him willfully. “So what else was it?”

“You do remember what happened during Ryuji’s wedding, right?”

Sadayo stopped and her smile covered her entire face at the memory. Though she’d voiced her concerns about Ryuji getting married so young, she had to admit her former student had done right by his wife.

Since he’d left Shujin, Ryuji’s life took a massive turn. He worked hard, got into college, and managed to graduate even though his grades weren’t top of the class. He’d met Jun his wife at school and she’d been able to calm him down and get him to focus enough on his goals and given the fact that she was American born, she was able to teach him English. She’d even passed on a love of American music to him that had filtered its way into their life and that’s when a small flicker of what he hinted at crept into her mind.

Ryuji’s wedding had happened in Hawaii. It was the second time most of them had been there, Futaba and Sojiro not having gone the first time, but his and Sadayo’s first time as a couple. It was on that trip that they’d put the rings she’d bought both of them on. There were night time strolls on the beach, days swimming and lounging by the pool. Nights where they’d exhausted themselves to the point that they didn’t wake until well past noon. But the night of Ryuji’s wedding held a special place for them, not only was it the night they’d exchanged their rings, but it was the night they shared something else for the first time.

“I do,” she hummed as she began stroking his arms. “I remember the wedding where all the guys were dressed in shirts and shorts exactly like yours. And all of us ladies wore flowered dresses, leis, and had these small lovely bouquets.”

Akira locked his fingers with hers and pulled her close his nose brushing against hers. “What else do you remember?”

“I remember,” she paused in fake concentration, wanting to draw this out. “I remember us having a small luau where Yusuke nearly fell into the pit they’d been cooking the pig in and Ann getting poi in her hair thanks to Futaba’s prank going wrong.” They both shared a long laugh at the memory of Ann freaking out at the sticky substance working its way into her hair.

“Is that all,” he asked after they calmed down.

“I remember a long night time walk on the beach.” She moved in closer and kissed him softly. “I remember us spreading out the large towels we brought beneath a pier and us exchanging our rings.” She leaned in and gave him a deep kiss which sucked the air from his lungs.

“What else?” He felt that familiar need begin to worm its way into his mind but he willed himself to keep control.

“I also remember,” her fingernails scratched his chest beneath his shirt before whispering, “sand in places I never want there to be sand again.”

Akira nearly collapsed on the floor from laughing so hard while Sadayo stepped back to give him breathing room. When he calmed down he held her close and kissed her saying, “I think we both learned a valuable lesson that night.”

“I think so too.” Sadayo kissed him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “But seriously, what kind of playlist got you to think of this my love?”

Grabbing the remote off the coffee table, he kept her close and hit play before saying, “This.”

Sadayo gasped when she heard a familiar bass line and blushed deeply. “You seriously made a playlist of the songs we danced to that night?”

“I asked the D.J. to download them for me.” His right hand wrapped around her lower back and his left took her right and began gently leading her to the music as the singing started. “We said we’d go dancing and things have been so hectic the past couple of years I thought tonight we can make up for that.”

Sadayo rested against his chest and let him lead her. Neither of them were excellent dancers, both of them were conscious of where their feet were, but she felt happy resting against him. She tried to translate the words as best as she could. She could make out the words of mountains falling, and not crying as the world crumbling around them so long as they remained at one another’s side. She always loved the fact that Ryuji and Jun brought this music into their lives. It was slow, melodic, and made their first dance more special than most of the loud thumping music they’d heard in the bars during their trip.

As they swayed together, their feet occasionally stepping on one another’s making them chuckle, her mind drifted back to when they found the bar Ryuji had rented out for the evening. There were plenty of other people there, but the owners had set aside a place just for them since there was only twelve of them. The drinks were discounted along with the bar food since the majority of the group had recently turned twenty-one. He, Yusuke, and Makoto kept their usual composure but still had fun playing bar games and practicing their English with some of the locals while Sadayo, Sojiro, and Sae kept an eye on their younger counterparts.

Though she’d occasionally let him have a glass of wine at home, Akira indulged as much as the others when it came to the cocktails the bar supplied. He handled himself fairly well, but the flush to his cheeks and his constant need to kiss her and touch her had Sadayo blushing most of the night. She’d kept him supplied with snacks and water, and even let him use her as a resting post for a couple hours until he sobered up. When he did, Ryuji had asked if the D.J. could play some songs his new wife’s family always played at weddings and that was when he asked her to dance for the first time.

The feeling of her feet being lifted from the floor pulled her from the memory, the sound of the strings crescendo echoing in her ears as he spun them gently across the living room she gazed down into his eyes, saw his smile and smiled back. When she landed she allowed him to twirl her to the music and pull her back in, returning to their gentle swaying as the next song began.

Her mind slipped back into the memories of their trip, when the others had disappeared back to their rooms, they grabbed a few of the beach towels the hotel provided and found a secluded pier that they’d disappeared under. The tide was low so they didn’t have to worry about getting drenched, and the moon was bright, giving them just enough light to see each other. They’d brought a bottle of wine with them and shared it, sipping quietly, stealing kisses, and talking over the gentle crashing of the evening waves.

When they were nearly done with the wine, Sadayo finally mustered enough courage to present him with the rings she’d ordered before their arrival. He accepted it without question, the unspoken agreement of what they symbolized not lost on him. Once they were on, they wasted no time reveling in the She opened her eyes as he spun her, the small glint of gold on his fingers catching her attention and making her blush.

“Why are you blushing?” He pulled her back and they continued gliding cautiously along the carpeted floor.

“The fact you’re okay with wearing these.” She rolled the two small rings on his left ring finger.

“I told you I don’t care what anyone thinks about them.” He gave her a soft kiss as the song ended and led into the next one, this one a bit faster leading to the occasional trampling of toes and dealing with a man asking his love to always save a dance for him. “I know you asked me first, but if we’re going to get married I figured we should wear rings both of us picked out.”

“So I’m going to have to wear three rings?” She looked down at her swollen finger, missing the feeling of her rings.

“I was thinking we could get them joined.” He had to stop to avoid hitting her foot with his heel as the song ended. “Iwai’s friend does good work so I figured before the wedding we could ask her to work on them.” He looked at is finger and said, “I think we could just get them crossed over.”

She moved in closer, her face flushed red at his consideration. She felt her rings press into her chest as another song, another slow one that reminded her of the night beneath the pier. “You think a lot about these things?”

“Of course,” he moved his hand up her back, dipped her cautiously and gave her a deep kiss. “I’m never going to not think about you.”  
They continued dancing long after the playlist ended. They didn’t want to leave their fake tropical get away, locked against each other, swaying gently to the soft pattering of the rain.

As they danced, the memories of the weekend slowly began to fade from her mind as she listened to his heart, the rain seemingly falling in time with the beats. She sighed happily into his chest and gazed up at him smiling lovingly. His eyes were closed in quiet satisfaction and as she watched him an idea struck her as she listened to the rain.

“Hey, Akira?”

“Yeah?” He opened his eyes and looked down at her contentedly.

“Have you thought of names for the baby yet?” They’d discussed it briefly, but they hadn’t settled on anything concrete.

A low rumble of thunder echoed outside as he shook his head.

“I’ve taken a look at a few but nothing has stuck.” He spun her again and had her return to him with her back against her chest, their legs moving slowly to the beat of the rain. “I figured we’d discuss it when we were at your parents but given the circumstances,” he gave her strained look, “things didn’t turn out as planned.”

“We’re home though,” she gave him a kiss and let his hands rub her stomach. “I’m safe and the baby is safe as well. I’m just going to have to be a bit more careful.”

“I know,” his breath was hot against her neck, but his voice shook. “Still doesn’t mean that I’m not scared shitless.”

She turned around, removed his glasses, and pressed her forehead to his, locking eyes with him. “Aki-kun, I’m not going anywhere and neither is the baby.”

“I’m sorry.” He sniffed loudly and rubbed his forehead against hers.

“Nothing to apologize for.” She gave him a gentle pat on the cheek. “Just remember that you don’t have to carry everything yourself. I’m here to support you.”

“I know.” He kissed her and pulled her close, his hands resting on her back. They swayed slowly for a few more minutes before he asked, “Did you have some good names in mind?”

“I think so.” She looked outside, the light from the porch lighting up the rain on the sliding door.

“I’m all ears.” His chin rested on her head and he could feel her shaking.

“Well I was thinking” she took a shaky breath as the rain picked back up and a gentle roll of thunder echoed outside. “I was thinking if it’s a girl we can name her Nariko?”

“Feeling inspired by the weather?” Akira couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the name.

She blushed and buried her face deeper into his chest. “Maybe a bit. It seems fitting given...given the kind of stormy life our relationship has had.”

“I can’t argue with that.” He kissed her and rubbed his nose against hers. “What name did you have in mind for a boy?”

Sadayo took a deep breath and said, “Maybe Hiro or Kenta?”  
She watched his eyes close and saw the slimmest smile appear on his face. “I like them.”

She exhaled loudly and returned her face to his chest, laughing in relief as he held her close while the early November rain played softly in their ears.


End file.
